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Photo Assignment: Weekend 10/19/07

I've sat through many a 'crit' in my life, both as a student and as a professional. My apologies if I stepped on any toes. Please take any criticism or suggestions with a grain of salt. I'm just one voice and your goal, our goal, should be to find or improve your own. My own ideas about how an image is built, while, I hope, born of experience and training and all that that means, are just my own.

:clap

Glad you jumped in, Scott. Keep posting, please. You obviously have a trained and critical eye, something all of us can use. The more voices, the better, I say.
 
:clap

Glad you jumped in, Scott. Keep posting, please. You obviously have a trained and critical eye, something all of us can use. The more voices, the better, I say.


I concur whole heartedly! That's how we all learn, I too was unaware of the effect of different photo sharing sites, perhaps because I have my own web space, but it was still interesting.:clap

On the subject of photo shopping (that's photoshopping not shopping for photos!); as pointed out it is no differant than what photo processing houses do with film. When i first starting shooting film I did a lot of B&W work so I could do my own processing. Things like chemical temps during processing the film, then adjusting the lighting/cropping when making the print along with differant filters, "dogding" tools to reduce the amount of light shinning on certain areas of the paper as it was exposed, etc were all designed to "alter" the image in some manner. Now we just do it with differant tools, so no one should feel like its "cheating" or be afaird to experiment, (just remember to save a copy prior to starting!:D ).

So with that in mind, I do like the idea that for these we don't photoshop, since you need a good image to begin with and that's only done by concentrating on the subject, composision, lighting etc, that all important process that happens in the field.

RM
 
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Scott's point about image appearances are very interesting. I am amazing just how different an image looks when I shoot JPG or when I shoot RAW and then convert to JPG in Lightroom. These are the little things that are nuances that are hard for me to put my finger on. If the audio media I can find and notice and quantify the issues. For example I can hear the dynamic range difference in a track, and describe it as noise and where it is placed in the track.

Now for photographs that is harder for me, especially when one considers that adding an unsharp mask can make the photo look better. SmugMug has actually offered it now as part of the hosting. So how does one quantify and explain that? It is a tightrope and talented people can explain it well, but it is harder to even learn to see it. It is even harder to see when you are the one who took the picture. You get a blind spot to the imperfections, kind of like how you don't see the spot on your windshield after a certain period of time.

I am not immune to it. I can hear if a guitar is out of tune, but I can not tune my own guitar as well.

That is why I like that Tom is doing this and offering us up a chance for critique that is helpful.
 
Cypress Mountain Drive...
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/burnszilla/1694535412/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2120/1694535412_67c0bac9d0_b.jpg" width="800" alt="Morro Bay Ride & Camp" /></a>
Wow! This shot is GORGEOUS!!
 
This is one of my absolutely favorite images on this site; I remember it well. This shot was selected the third-ever picture of the week. We've had 122 by the way. It looks like a studio shot--really sharp and great lighting. I really just wanted to show it again--it's that good.

No Sh*t? I had totally forgotten that, damn its been a while since I've posted much, huh? :D

As I said I often use it as example to diswade people that HAVE to have tons of megpixel or that that alone mean better shots and that a really great shot often just jumps out and graps you, BUT only if you really LOOK!

(damn I'm good!:D (and even luckier! Ha Ha!))

Forgot where I saw it but someone pointed out a link to someone who just uses really simple box camera's and does some really amazing things.

RM
 
No Sh*t? I had totally forgotten that, damn its been a while since I've posted much, huh? :D

As I said I often use it as example to diswade people that HAVE to have tons of megpixel or that that alone mean better shots and that a really great shot often just jumps out and graps you, BUT only if you really LOOK!

(damn I'm good!:D (and even luckier! Ha Ha!))

Forgot where I saw it but someone pointed out a link to someone who just uses really simple box camera's and does some really amazing things.

RM


It's often not the camera, but the vision behind it.

I have handed a camera [which I had been struggling with] off to a “true photographer” and have seen some truly wonderful images result.

It’s like handing a child’s instrument to a virtuoso.
 
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Here is a photo I took from the seat of the motorbike. The water looks over saturated, but, the rest of the photo is not over saturated. The water picked up the color because it was in the shade of a large tree. The water formed a mirror and mimicked the color of the sky.

I do not post process any of my photos. If you go to my Smugmug site and run your mouse over the photo you will see when the photo was shot and when the photo was modified, and date and time will match. Photo Assignment rules also state no photo alteration.

I shot multiple shots at different ASA, speed and many times step down or over 2/3 F stop to get the photo I like.
 
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"Beyond a shadow of a doubt"

"Beyond a shadow of a doubt" a BMW will fit through that highway culvert.
 
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This reminds me of the shots we used to take in High School. Very Fun!

That shot was part of an 150 mile dual sport motorcycle run that started in West Bend and dual sported to 15 farms in four counties. The run ran through water, mud, hills, harvested fields, highway culverts, and right through a 100 year old Wisconsin barn.



"Beyond a shadow of a doubt"

"Beyond a shadow of a doubt" the GS cylinders are not wider than a barn door.

Note: not much time to set up a shot when you are riding with 123 motocross
racers. This is a two part photo shot inside the barn.


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Help I have a Shutterfly account

And I want to post multiple pictures and can not figure outhow to use the manage attachments to upload fronm a site. Help?
 
Shadow of a doubt 140 years later

Missouri had more civilians killed in the Civil War than any other state. It was the only Slave State not to secede. There was much atrocity in border raids from both Kansas and Missouri on each other civilians. In Higginsville MO there is a Confederate Cemetery and Memorial. There is controversy yet today. Here is the photo story.

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In it is this chapel.
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This is the donation box in the chapel. What tales could it tell?
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But this is what causes the doubts even today.

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As you can see this is the flag of the Army of Northern Virginia. However over the years it has changed to mean Slavery to many people. Actually the Confderate Flag looked like this. These are photos of displays at the Cemetery. There are many more "Confederate Flags" than these in their display.
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Until a few years ago the Confederate Flag flew over this Confederate Cemetery and Memorial.
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The previous Governor took the flag down. The current Governoor allows the flag to fly on Memorial Day only. Here's the flagpole with US and Missouri Flags flying, and obligatory shot of my bike.
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Also in the Cemetery is the Grave of William Quantrill the leader of Quantrill's Raiders, also known as the Missouri Partisan Rangers whose members included the James Brothers and the Youngers and his second in command, Bloody Bill Anderson. (More of this group is certain to be in another photo essay.) If you saw the movie Ride with the Devil you learned some of the story.
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Here's a look at the Cemetery.
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Over 140 years later there is still a doubt as to who were the good guys and who were the bad guys to many in this area. Should a Soldier who fought for a cause they felt worth dying for, be allowed to rest forever under his Flag or the Flag of the Victors? It has been said the Winners write the history. I don't have the definitive answer, but still believe there is a shadow of a doubt to some of these questions.
 
fall is here...

My weekend ride out Hwy 224 east of Estacada towards Detroit Lake. This stop was at Ripplebrook Ranger Station and the most "color" I could find.
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My weekend ride out Hwy 224 east of Estacada towards Detroit Lake. This stop was at Ripplebrook Ranger Station and the most "color" I could find.
purtycolor.jpg

I know that station entirely too well. Beware the bathroom. :D
 
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